To tell you the truth, Racing games are not usually my fancy unless they are around Ridge Racer or Gran Turismo's caliber. Now, I know that the originally 4x4 Evo has reached some success, but I never really had a chance to play anything more than a demo version of it. 4x4 Evo 2, on the other hand, I did pick up and it really isn't anything special, even if it does feature 4 GameCube-only tracks and four GameCube only vehicles.

Gameplay
The gameplay here is nothing short of sub-par. Evo feels like any decent arcade-racing game out there. The enemy AI in this title act wacky and it eventually gets annoying. The other cars in this game just don't look like there are actual people behind the wheel, and it looks kind of ridiculous at some points. Yes, there are 30 tracks to choose from in case you didn't know, but why waste 30 tracks on a game that is just average, maybe not even at that? One good thing I would say about the gameplay is that there are a countless number of upgrades for your vehicles. But, as I have said before, what good is that when the gameplay isn't anything special. One more thing, it is a SERIOUS DRAG falling into a lake.

Graphics
Okay, so graphically some nice touches were added, but overall the graphics aren't anything special either. The game sports very noticeable texture pop-ins and many draw-ins. Also, many low resolution textures appear in the game and the developer Terminal Reality seemed to have forgotten to add lighting and other shading effects. Yet still, it isn't all bad. The car models look great and they do have nice reflections. Other positive things to note about the graphics are that the game does have some weather effects. For instance, to show that it is windy, leaves fly around the track you're racing through and dust appears when veering offroad. To sum up the graphics area of the title- nice touches and car models, but other than that, the visuals are very primitive.

Sound
The music and sound in Evo 2 is something different, but remember- that is not always a good thing. You have an option of listening to music in your 4x4, but the songs are very strange, and don't seem to fit the game. On top of that, they are very low in volume for some reason. Your car makes all sorts of odd noises that I have never heard a car make, which makes the game very unrealistic. The sound effects outside of your vehicle are repetitive and get very annoying.

Replay Value
I don't really see anyone playing the single player modes more than once. VS mode is probably the only reason people would want to come back to this game. There are other racing titles out there to buy, so if you see another, chances are it is better than this one. The game was so disappointing in its key parts that I am not even sure if it is worth a rental